Solid state to tube

@thr1961 Based on this experience, I added an ARC preamp and power amp and am thrilled with the sound, even in these early days of tube burn-in. Of note, even my wife noticed the difference and she typically never hears the differebe hard for anyone not to notice the difference in my sound.

Yep! With that degree of change it’d be near impossible not to hear a difference. 😊

Congratulations. Nice move by you.

Charles

@ronboco 

Both tube and solid state amplifiers if push-pull can be either class A bias or class AB. If they are single ended circuits (Rather than push-pull) then they are pure class A by default. For example, all SET or SEP tube  amplifiers are exclusively pure class A circuits. First Watt has some solid state single ended class A amplifiers.

Charles

@ecpninja

on the Reference 3a Speakers website they openly tout that their speakers are very easy to drive and tube amplifier friendly. In fact, two amplifiers that they recommend for use with their speakers (Listed on site) are lower powered tube amplifiers. Here’s an old post regarding your speakers.

I heard both speakers at the Stereophile show in 2002.
The distributor for Reference 3A A/Bed the speakers.
He was using Antique Sound Labs 845 tube amps and an Antique Sound tube preamp.

The Reference 3a da capo’s were nice sounding monitors.
But the l’integral nouveau are much better speakers.
The main difference was the l’integral nouveau were much more fuller sounding and the bass was superior then the da Capo’s.
The l’integral nouveau have a very smooth sound with a sweet midrange and the bass is great.
Those were one of my favorite speakers at the show that year.

@ghdprentice 

Thank you and likewise. You certainly have an audio system to be proud of and I’m sure does justice to your music reproduction.

Charles 

@ghdprentice 

if you look at my virtual system page, I have a few pictures of local musicians I enjoy. The sound of the bassists pictured do sound pretty much as you described.👍

Happy live listening.

Charles

To me, after decades with high current solid state amplification, appreciated slam… which tends to be much greater in solid state. The midrange tends to be a tad leaner and the bass transients really fast… this gives the characteristic slap of fast bass. But, I have never heard this in live performance… amplified or acoustical. High quality tubed amplification tends to have a more fully fleshed out midrange and upper bass and the bass is finely nuanced… but the transient rise is slower… which is actually what I hear in live venues.

We either drink the same water or hang out at the same live un-amplified music venues.😊. This has been my observation for many years listening to acoustic double bass and cello. All acoustic instruments in actuality when heard in a natural environment.

Charles

Why?

I tried tubes and went back to SS

The OP could end up doing the same thing, who knows?

Each and everyone of us will have our own specific experiences. For me it was pretty simple, tubes were more natural sounding and authentic to my ears.
 

For some listeners they won’t be. I applaud the OP for giving tubes a try. We’ll see what happens. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Charles

@ghdprentice 

All my gear is tubed now. I would not consider going back

Good comments and I can relate with your amplifier transition/progression. I went from a Symphonic Line solid state amplifier to a couple of push-pull tube amplifiers. The el34 amp was utterly reliable. The KT 88/6550 was also, (with the occasional KT 88 failure). 6550 were even less prone to a failure.

Most reliable with zero problems has been my 300b SET of 13 > years. Probably due to the very simple circuit and high built quality. Only 3 tubes per mono block (Rectifier/driver/output). Literally maintenance free with beautiful sound. Tube amplifiers are durable and can be quite trouble free.

Charles